Methods and systems for selecting media guidance functions based on tactile attributes of a user input

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are disclosed herein for a media guidance application that determines the tactile attributes (e.g., an amount of pressure applied by a user, a length of time pressure is applied by a user, a velocity of the user input, etc.) associated with a received user input and determines which media guidance function, of a plurality of media guidance functions, is associated with the tactile attributes.

BACKGROUND

In addition to providing users with a plethora of media content, modernmedia systems typically supply users with options to play content,select different content, or access additional information about contentas well as numerous other features. To organize and provide access tothese numerous features, typical media systems generate interactivemenus for users. While interactive menus allow users access to thesenumerous features, these complex menus, featuring a multitude ofcategories and sub-categories, are not only difficult to navigate butalso time intensive. Furthermore, while the extent of interactive menusnecessary may be reduced by providing more inputs on a device (e.g.,buttons on a remote), additional inputs often clutter the device, makingoperation of the device difficult.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, methods and systems are disclosed herein for a mediaguidance application that reduces the need for complex menus withoutrequiring additional inputs on a device by initiating media guidancefunctions based on tactile attributes of a user input. For example, whenreceiving a user input, the media guidance application may determine thetactile attributes (e.g., an amount of pressure applied by a user, alength of time pressure is applied by a user, a velocity of a userselection, etc.) associated with the received user input and determinewhich function, of a plurality of functions, is associated with thetactile attributes. By making determinations based on the tactileattributes, the media guidance application can associate multiplefunctions with a single user input without requiring a user to navigateadditional menus.

In some aspects, the media guidance application receives a user inputand determines an amount of pressure applied by a user associated withthe user input. The media guidance application then cross-references theamount of pressure applied by the user with a database listing aplurality of media guidance functions each associated with a differentamount of pressure to determine a media guidance function associatedwith the amount of pressure applied by the user. The media guidanceapplication then selects the media guidance function from the pluralityof media guidance functions and performs the media guidance function inresponse to the user input.

In some embodiments, each of the plurality of media guidance functionsis associated with a different fast-access playback operation. Forexample, a first fast-access playback operation may be a rewindoperation and a second fast-access playback operation may be a startover operation. Depending on the amount of pressure applied by a userduring the user input, the media guidance application determines whetherto rewind a media asset (e.g., if less pressure is applied) or startover the media asset (e.g., if more pressure is applied).

In some embodiments, each of the plurality of media guidance functionsis associated with a different fast-access playback operation speed. Forexample, a first fast-access playback operation speed may be a two frameskip fast-forward speed and a second fast-access playback operationspeed may be a four frame skip fast-forward speed. Depending on theamount of pressure applied by a user during the user input, the mediaguidance application determines whether to fast-forward at a two frameskip speed (e.g., if less pressure is applied) or fast-forward at a fourframe skip speed (e.g., if more pressure is applied).

In some embodiments, a first media guidance function of the plurality ofmedia guidance functions may relate to replacing current content withnew content on a display device and a second media guidance function ofthe plurality of media guidance functions may relate to presenting thenew content simultaneously with the current content on the displaydevice. For example, depending on the amount of pressure applied by auser during the user input, the media guidance application determineswhether to present the new content in a picture-in-a-picture windowoverlaid on the current content (e.g., if less pressure is applied) orreplace current content with new content (e.g., if more pressure isapplied).

In some embodiments, each of the plurality of media guidance functionsmay be associated with a different channel scan speed. For example,depending on the amount of pressure applied by a user during the userinput, the media guidance application determines whether to scanchannels at a rate of one channel every two seconds (e.g., if lesspressure is applied) or scan channels at a rate of one channel everysecond (e.g., if more pressure is applied).

In some embodiments, each of the plurality of media guidance functionsis associated with a different number of user devices affected by themedia guidance function. For example, depending on the amount ofpressure applied by a user during the user input, the media guidanceapplication determines whether to apply the media guidance function to asingle device (e.g., if less pressure is applied) or apply the mediaguidance function to several devices within a certain proximity (e.g.,if more pressure is applied).

It should be noted, the systems and/or methods described above may becombined with, applied to, or used in accordance with, other systems,methods and/or apparatuses discussed both above and below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the disclosure will beapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative example of a media guidance display fornavigating and selecting media assets in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows another illustrative example of a media guidance displayfor navigating and selecting media assets in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an illustrative user equipment device inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an illustrative media system in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for selecting a mediaguidance function from a plurality of media guidance functions based onan amount of pressure applied by a user during a user input inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure; and

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for determining tactileattributes associated with a user input in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Methods and systems are disclosed herein for a media guidanceapplication that determines the tactile attributes (e.g., an amount ofpressure applied by a user, a length of time pressure is applied by auser, a velocity of a user selection, etc.) associated with a receiveduser input and determines which media guidance function, of a pluralityof media guidance functions, is associated with the tactile attributes.As used herein, “a media guidance application,” “interactive mediaguidance application,” or “guidance application” refer to a form ofmedia guidance through an interface that allows users to efficientlynavigate, identify, view, playback, or obtain information about contentthat they may desire. In some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may be provided as an on-line application (i.e., provided ona website), or as a stand-alone application on a server, user device,etc. Various devices and platforms that may implement the media guidanceapplication are described in more detail below. In some embodiments, themedia guidance application and/or any instructions for performing any ofthe embodiments discussed herein may be encoded on computer readablemedia. Computer readable media includes any media capable of storingdata. The computer readable media may be transitory, including, but notlimited to, propagating electrical or electromagnetic signals, or may benon-transitory including, but not limited to, volatile and non-volatilecomputer memory or storage devices such as a hard disk, floppy disk, USBdrive, DVD, CD, media card, register memory, processor caches, RandomAccess Memory (“RAM”), etc.

Media guidance applications may take various forms depending on thecontent for which they provide guidance. One typical type of mediaguidance application is an interactive television program guide.Interactive television program guides (sometimes referred to aselectronic program guides) are well-known guidance applications that,among other things, allow users to navigate among and locate many typesof content or media assets. Interactive media guidance applications maygenerate graphical user interface screens that enable a user to navigateamong, locate, and select content. As referred to herein, the term“media asset” should be understood to mean an electronically consumableuser asset, such as television programming, as well as pay-per-viewprograms, on-demand programs (as in video-on-demand (VOD) systems),Internet content (e.g., streaming content, downloadable content,webcasts, etc.), video clips, audio, content information, pictures,rotating images, documents, playlists, websites, articles, books,electronic books, blogs, advertisements, chat sessions, social media,applications, games, and/or any other media or multimedia and/orcombination of the same. Media guidance applications also allow users tonavigate among and locate content. As referred to herein, the term“multimedia” should be understood to mean content that utilizes at leasttwo different content forms described above. For example, text, audio,images, video, or interactivity content forms. Content may be recorded,played, displayed, or accessed by user equipment devices, but can alsobe part of a live performance.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application receives a userinput and determines tactile attributes associated with that input. Asused herein, a “tactile attribute” refers to a characteristic describingthe contact between a user and a user input interface that results in auser input. For example, a tactile attribute may describe an amount ofpressure applied by a user to a user input interface when making a userinput, a length of time a user contacts and/or applies pressure to auser input interface in order to make a user input, a velocity at whicha user touch a user input interface when making a user input, afrequency of contact between a user and a user input interface whenmaking user inputs, how a user contacts a user input interface (e.g., byswiping, pinching, striking, rubbing, etc.) when making a user input, adirection a user contacts a user input interface (e.g., vertically,horizontally, left-to-right, right-to-left, diagonally, etc.), what auser uses to make contact with a user input interface when making a userinput, and/or any other characteristic that describes the contactbetween a user and the user input interface when making a user input.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application cross-references thetactile attributes associated with a user input with a database listinga plurality of media guidance functions, each associated with differenttactile attributes, or values of tactile attributes, to determine amedia guidance function associated with the tactile attributes of theuser input. As used herein, a “media guidance function,” refers to anyfeature, operation, or service related to the consumption of a mediaasset and/or media guidance data. For example, a media guidance functionmay refer to the presentation of one or more media assets. In anotherexample, a media guidance function may include a performance of afast-access playback operation.

As referred to herein, the phrase “fast-access playback operations”should be understood to mean any operation that pertains to playing backa non-linear media asset at faster than normal playback speed or in adifferent order than the media asset is designed to be played, such as afast-forward, rewind, skip, chapter selection, segment selection, skipsegment, jump segment, next segment, previous segment, skipadvertisement, or commercial, next chapter, previous chapter or anyother operation that does not play back the media asset at normalplayback speed. The fast-access playback operation may be any playbackoperation that is not “play,” where the play operation plays back themedia asset at normal playback speed.

In another example, a media guidance function may include presentingmedia guidance data. As referred to herein, the phrase, “media guidancedata” or “guidance data” should be understood to mean any data relatedto content, such as media listings, media-related information (e.g.,broadcast times, broadcast channels, titles, descriptions, ratingsinformation (e.g., parental control ratings, critic's ratings, etc.),genre or category information, actor information, logo data forbroadcasters' or providers' logos, etc.), media format (e.g., standarddefinition, high definition, 3D, etc.), advertisement information (e.g.,text, images, media clips, etc.), on-demand information, blogs,websites, and any other type of guidance data that is helpful for a userto navigate among and locate desired content selections.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application then selects themedia guidance function from the plurality of media guidance functionsand performs the media guidance function in response to the user input.For example, a single user input may trigger various media guidancefunctions depending on how a user contacts a user input interface whenmaking the user input. For example, the media guidance application maydetermine the tactile attributes associated with the contact and selecta particular media guidance function associated with the particulartactile attributes and the particular user input.

In some embodiments, each of the plurality of media guidance functionsis associated with a different fast-access playback operation. Forexample, a first fast-access playback operation may be a rewindoperation, a second fast-access playback operation may be askip-to-previous-chapter operation, and a third fast-access playbackoperation may be associated with a start over operation. Depending onthe tactile attributes associated with the user input (e.g., the amountof pressure applied by a user during the user input, the length of timea user contacts the user input interface when making the user input,etc.) the media guidance application may determine whether to rewind amedia asset (e.g., if low pressure is applied for a short period oftime), skip to a previous chapter (e.g., if high pressure is applied fora short period of time), or start over the media asset (e.g., if highpressure is applied for a long period of time).

In addition to media guidance functions being associated with differentoperations (e.g., fast-access playback operations), the media guidancefunctions may be associated with different levels of operations. Forexample, in some embodiments, each of the plurality of media guidancefunctions is associated with a different fast-access playback operationspeed. For example, a first fast-access playback operation speed may bea two frame skip fast-forward speed and a second fast-access playbackoperation speed may be a four frame skip fast-forward speed. Dependingon the amount of pressure applied by a user during the user input, themedia guidance application determines whether to fast-forward at a twoframe skip speed (e.g., if less pressure is applied) or fast-forward ata four frame skip speed (e.g., if more pressure is applied).

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may even alterselected media guidance functions based on the tactile attributes of auser input while a media guidance function is being performed. Forexample, in response to a user applying low pressure during a userinput, the media guidance application may perform a fast-forward at atwo frame skip speed. While the media guidance application is performingthe fast-forward at a two frame skip speed, the media guidanceapplication may determine that the user has applied more pressure duringthe same user input (e.g., the user may have continued to apply pressurewhile the fast-forward was performed, then gradually applied morepressure). In response to the increase in pressure applied by the user,the media guidance application may adjust the media guidance functionbeing performed. For example, the media guidance application mayautomatically perform a fast-forward at a four frame skip speed.

In some embodiments, the media guidance functions relate not only tooperations (e.g., fast-access playback operations), but also to whatfeatures and/or content is presented by the media guidance application.For example, a media guidance function may relate to the selection of amedia listing, change of channel, generation of a PIP window,presentation of subtitles, ordering of a pay-per-view movie, adjustmentof a presentation volume, modification of user device displayproperties, etc.

For example, in some embodiments, a first media guidance function of theplurality of media guidance functions may relate to replacing currentcontent with new content on a display device, and a second mediaguidance function of the plurality of media guidance functions mayrelate to presenting the new content simultaneously with the currentcontent on the display device. For example, depending on the amount ofpressure applied by a user during the user input, the media guidanceapplication determines whether to present the new content in a PIPwindow overlaid on the current content (e.g., if less pressure isapplied) or replace current content with new content (e.g., if morepressure is applied).

For example, while viewing a first program a user may wish to obtain apreview of another program. The user may enter a user input (e.g., aspecific channel number, selection of the program via a menu, channel upcommand, etc.) associated with the presentation of the other program.Based on the tactile attributes (e.g., the amount of pressure applied tothe user input interface when entering the user input), the mediaguidance application may generate a display of a preview of the otherprogram in a PIP window before replacing the current program with theother program.

For example, the media guidance application may determine that a user isapplying low pressure to a user input associated with a channel changerequest (e.g., causing a button associated with the user input topartially depress). In response, the media guidance application maygenerate a display of a preview, information, etc. of the channelassociated with the channel change request. For example, the mediaguidance application may generate a PIP window featuring the channelassociated with the channel change request while the current channelcontinues to be displayed. In another example, the media guidanceapplication may generate a display of program schedule information, atextual description, critical reviews, a short preview clip, and/or anyother media guidance data associated with the channel associated withthe channel change request.

Alternatively, or subsequently to, determining that a user is applyinglow pressure to a user input associated with a channel change request(e.g., causing a button associated with the user input to partiallydepress), the media guidance application may determine that a user isapplying high pressure to a user input associated with a channel changerequest (e.g., causing a button associated with the user input to fullydepress). In response, the media guidance application may generate adisplay of different content (e.g., of the content and media guidancedata discussed above) than that associated with the user applying lowpressure. For example, in response to determining the user is applyinghigh pressure the media guidance application may replace the content ofa current channel with the content of the channel associated with thechannel change request.

For example, the media guidance application may receive a user input anddetermine an amount of pressure applied by a user associated with theuser input (e.g., requesting a channel change request). The mediaguidance application then cross-references the amount of pressureapplied by the user with a database listing a plurality of mediaguidance functions, each associated with a different amount of pressure,to determine a media guidance function associated with the amount ofpressure applied by the user (e.g., whether to change the currentchannel, generate a PIP window of the channel associated with thechannel change request, or another media guidance function). The mediaguidance application then selects the media guidance function from theplurality of media guidance functions and performs the media guidancefunction in response to the user input.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine thetactile attributes of multiple user inputs associated with a single userrequest. For example, a user may enter multiple inputs (e.g.,corresponding to the numbers three, two, and five) when entering asingle channel request (e.g., for the channel three hundredtwenty-five). In another example, a user may enter each alpha-numericcharacter of the tile of a media asset when searching for a medialisting associated with the media asset. In such cases, the mediaguidance application may determine the tactile attributes of each userinput corresponding to the single user request or may determine thetactile attributes of only a single input of the multiple input userrequest (e.g., the last input of the multiple input user request).

Additionally or alternatively, the media guidance may generate acomposite quantification of the tactile attributes associated with eachuser input of the multiple input user inputs in a single user request(e.g., each input associated with a single alpha-numeric character in asearch string), with quantifications (e.g., indicating the pressureapplied by a user during each user input), corresponding to one, one,two, and four, respectively, the media guidance application maydetermine that the composite quantification of the tactile attributescorresponds to two. It should be noted that the arithmetic mean oraverage referred to herein is but one way to determine a compositeengagement level. Mathematical modes, medians, or other types of centralor typical values may also be used.

To generate the composite quantification of the tactile attributes, themedia guidance application may weigh each of the user inputs of themultiple user inputs according to one or more criteria. In someembodiments, such criteria may include the position of the user input inthe multiple input user request. For example, the first or last userinput may be weighed more heavily than a second or second-to-last userinput. Another criterion may be the average tactile attribute associatedwith a particular user input. For example, if a particular user input,or an amount of a particular tactile attribute, is typically associatedwith a particular tactile attribute (e.g., as determined by comparingprevious entries of the particular user input stored in a user profileor the previous entries of the particular user inputs of other usersretrieved from a remote source), the media guidance application maycompare the current tactile attribute associated with the current entryof the user input to previous (or average) tactile attributes associatedwith previous entry of the user input.

In such cases the comparison may be based on the subject matter, theuser input interface, the type of user input interface, and/or the typeof subject matter associated with the user input. For example, if theuser input is a touch-screen, swipe, of the alpha-numeric character“five” for a channel selection of the channel number “thirty-five,” themedia guidance may compare the user input to one or more of previousinputs of a user(s) associated with touch-screen inputs, swipe inputs,inputs of the alpha-numeric character, inputs of the alpha-numericcharacter “five,” inputs of second or last inputs in a multiple inputuser request, and/or inputs of a channel selection of the channel number“thirty-five.”

It should be noted that any technique associated with determining acomposite quantification for a user request featuring multiple userinputs may also be applied to user requests with a single user input.For example, if the user input is a touch-screen, swipe, of thealpha-numeric character “five” for a channel selection of the channel“five.” The media guidance may compare the user input to one or more ofprevious inputs of a user(s) associated with touch-screen inputs, swipeinputs, inputs of the alpha-numeric character, inputs of thealpha-numeric character “five,” inputs of single input user requests,and/or inputs of a channel selection of channel number “five.”

In some embodiments, each of the plurality of media guidance functionsmay be associated with a different channel scan speed. For example,depending on the amount of pressure applied by a user during the userinput, the media guidance application determines whether to scanchannels at a rate of one channel every two seconds (e.g., if lesspressure is applied) or scan channels at a rate of one channel everysecond (e.g., if more pressure is applied).

In some embodiments, each of the plurality of media guidance functionsis associated with a different number of user devices affected by themedia guidance function. For example, depending on the amount ofpressure applied by a user during the user input, the media guidanceapplication determines whether to apply the media guidance function to asingle device (e.g., if less pressure is applied) or apply the mediaguidance function to several devices within a certain proximity (e.g.,if more pressure is applied).

For example, the media guidance application may determine that a user isapplying low pressure to a user input associated with a media guidancefunction (e.g., turn a user device on or off). In response, the mediaguidance application may turn a single device on or off. Alternatively,or subsequently to, determining that a user is applying low pressure toa user input associated with a media guidance function, the mediaguidance application may determining that a user is applying highpressure to the user input associated with the media guidance function.In response, the media guidance application may turn on or off all userdevices associated with the user input interface, all user deviceswithin a certain proximity to the user input interface, all user devicesassociated with the user, all user device associated with a network orhousehold, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the media guidanceapplication may apply the media guidance function to incremental groups(e.g., all user devices in a first proximity, then all user devices in asecond proximity, etc.).

For example, in some embodiments, the media guidance application mayreceive tactile attributes associated with one or more user inputs. Themedia guidance application may cross-references those tactile attributeswith a database that lists particular media guidance functions thatcorrespond to a user input with the receive tactile attributes.Furthermore, the database may indicate one or more devices thatcorresponds (e.g., should perform the media guidance function) based onthe received tactile attributes and/or particular user input. Inresponse to determining the one or more devices that correspond to thereceived tactile attributes and/or particular user input, the mediaguidance application performs the media guidance function on thedetermined one or more devices.

As referred to herein, the phrase “user equipment device,” “userequipment,” “user device,” “electronic device,” “electronic equipment,”“media equipment device,” or “media device” should be understood to meanany device for accessing the content described above, such as atelevision, a Smart TV, a set-top box, an integrated receiver decoder(IRD) for handling satellite television, a digital storage device, adigital media receiver (DMR), a digital media adapter (DMA), a streamingmedia device, a DVD player, a DVD recorder, a connected DVD, a localmedia server, a BLU-RAY player, a BLU-RAY recorder, a personal computer(PC), a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a WebTV box, a personalcomputer television (PC/TV), a PC media server, a PC media center, ahand-held computer, a stationary telephone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a mobile telephone, a portable video player, a portable musicplayer, a portable gaming machine, a smart phone, or any othertelevision equipment, computing equipment, or wireless device, and/orcombination of the same. In some embodiments, the user equipment devicemay have a front facing screen and a rear facing screen, multiple frontscreens, or multiple angled screens.

In some embodiments, the user equipment device may have a front facingcamera and/or a rear facing camera. On these user equipment devices,users may be able to navigate among and locate the same contentavailable through a television. Consequently, media guidance may beavailable on these devices, as well. The guidance provided may be forcontent available only through a television, for content available onlythrough one or more of other types of user equipment devices, or forcontent available both through a television and one or more of the othertypes of user equipment devices. The media guidance applications may beprovided as on-line applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or asstand-alone applications or clients on user equipment devices. Variousdevices and platforms that may implement media guidance applications aredescribed in more detail below.

FIGS. 1-2 show illustrative display screens that may be used to providemedia guidance data. The display screens shown in FIGS. 1-2 may beimplemented on any suitable user equipment device or platform. While thedisplays of FIGS. 1-2 are illustrated as full screen displays, they mayalso be fully or partially overlaid over content being displayed. A usermay indicate a desire to access content information by selecting aselectable option provided in a display screen (e.g., a menu option, alistings option, an icon, a hyperlink, etc.) or pressing a dedicatedbutton (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remote control or other user inputinterface or device. In response to the user's indication, the mediaguidance application may provide a display screen with media guidancedata organized in one of several ways, such as by time and channel in agrid, by time, by channel, by source, by content type, by category(e.g., movies, sports, news, children, or other categories ofprogramming), or other predefined, user-defined, or other organizationcriteria. The organization of the media guidance data is determined byguidance application data. As referred to herein, the phrase, “guidanceapplication data” should be understood to mean data used in operatingthe guidance application, such as program information, guidanceapplication settings, user preferences, or user profile information.

FIG. 1 shows illustrative grid program listings display 100 arranged bytime and channel that also enables access to different types of contentin a single display. Display 100 may include grid 102 with: (1) a columnof channel/content type identifiers 104, where each channel/content typeidentifier (which is a cell in the column) identifies a differentchannel or content type available; and (2) a row of time identifiers106, where each time identifier (which is a cell in the row) identifiesa time block of programming. Grid 102 also includes cells of programlistings, such as program listing 108, where each listing provides thetitle of the program provided on the listing's associated channel andtime. With a user input device, a user can select program listings bymoving highlight region 110. Information relating to the program listingselected by highlight region 110 may be provided in program informationregion 112. Region 112 may include, for example, the program title, theprogram description, the time the program is provided (if applicable),the channel the program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, andother desired information.

In addition to providing access to linear programming (e.g., contentthat is scheduled to be transmitted to a plurality of user equipmentdevices at a predetermined time and is provided according to aschedule), the media guidance application also provides access tonon-linear programming (e.g., content accessible to a user equipmentdevice at any time and is not provided according to a schedule).Non-linear programming may include content from different contentsources including on-demand content (e.g., VOD), Internet content (e.g.,streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locally stored content(e.g., content stored on any user equipment device described above orother storage device), or other time-independent content. On-demandcontent may include movies or any other content provided by a particularcontent provider (e.g., HBO On Demand providing “The Sopranos” and “CurbYour Enthusiasm”). HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned by Time WarnerCompany L.P. et al. and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM aretrademarks owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Internet content mayinclude web events, such as a chat session or Webcast, or contentavailable on-demand as streaming content or downloadable content throughan Internet web site or other Internet access (e.g. FTP).

Grid 102 may provide media guidance data for non-linear programmingincluding on-demand listing 114, recorded content listing 116, andInternet content listing 118. A display combining media guidance datafor content from different types of content sources is sometimesreferred to as a “mixed-media” display. Various permutations of thetypes of media guidance data that may be displayed that are differentthan display 100 may be based on user selection or guidance applicationdefinition (e.g., a display of only recorded and broadcast listings,only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated, listings114, 116, and 118 are shown as spanning the entire time block displayedin grid 102 to indicate that selection of these listings may provideaccess to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings,or Internet listings, respectively. In some embodiments, listings forthese content types may be included directly in grid 102. Additionalmedia guidance data may be displayed in response to the user selectingone of the navigational icons 120. (Pressing an arrow key on a userinput device may affect the display in a similar manner as selectingnavigational icons 120.)

Display 100 may also include video region 122, advertisement 124, andoptions region 126. Video region 122 may allow the user to view and/orpreview programs that are currently available, will be available, orwere available to the user. The content of video region 122 maycorrespond to, or be independent from, one of the listings displayed ingrid 102. Grid displays including a video region are sometimes referredto as picture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG displays and theirfunctionalities are described in greater detail in Satterfield et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat.No. 6,239,794, issued May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties. PIG displays may be included inother media guidance application display screens of the embodimentsdescribed herein.

Advertisement 124 may provide an advertisement for content that,depending on a viewer's access rights (e.g., for subscriptionprogramming), is currently available for viewing, will be available forviewing in the future, or may never become available for viewing, andmay correspond to or be unrelated to one or more of the content listingsin grid 102. Advertisement 124 may also be for products or servicesrelated or unrelated to the content displayed in grid 102. Advertisement124 may be selectable and provide further information about content,provide information about a product or a service, enable purchasing ofcontent, a product, or a service, provide content relating to theadvertisement, etc. Advertisement 124 may be targeted based on a user'sprofile/preferences, monitored user activity, the type of displayprovided, or on other suitable targeted advertisement bases.

While advertisement 124 is shown as rectangular or banner shaped,advertisements may be provided in any suitable size, shape, and locationin a guidance application display. For example, advertisement 124 may beprovided as a rectangular shape that is horizontally adjacent to grid102. This is sometimes referred to as a panel advertisement. Inaddition, advertisements may be overlaid over content or a guidanceapplication display or embedded within a display. Advertisements mayalso include text, images, rotating images, video clips, or other typesof content described above. Advertisements may be stored in a userequipment device having a guidance application, in a database connectedto the user equipment, in a remote location (including streaming mediaservers), or on other storage means, or a combination of theselocations. Providing advertisements in a media guidance application isdiscussed in greater detail in, for example, Knudson et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2003/0110499, filed Jan. 17, 2003; Ward, IIIet al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,997, issued Jun. 29, 2004; and Schein et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,388,714, issued May 14, 2002, which are herebyincorporated by reference herein in their entireties. It will beappreciated that advertisements may be included in other media guidanceapplication display screens of the embodiments described herein.

Options region 126 may allow the user to access different types ofcontent, media guidance application displays, and/or media guidanceapplication features. Options region 126 may be part of display 100 (andother display screens described herein), or may be invoked by a user byselecting an on-screen option or pressing a dedicated or assignablebutton on a user input device. The selectable options within optionsregion 126 may concern features related to program listings in grid 102or may include options available from a main menu display. Featuresrelated to program listings may include searching for other air times orways of receiving a program, recording a program, enabling seriesrecording of a program, setting program and/or channel as a favorite,purchasing a program, or other features. Options available from a mainmenu display may include search options, VOD options, parental controloptions, Internet options, cloud-based options, device synchronizationoptions, second screen device options, options to access various typesof media guidance data displays, options to subscribe to a premiumservice, options to edit a user's profile, options to access a browseoverlay, or other options.

The media guidance application may be personalized based on a user'spreferences. A personalized media guidance application allows a user tocustomize displays and features to create a personalized “experience”with the media guidance application. This personalized experience may becreated by allowing a user to input these customizations and/or by themedia guidance application monitoring user activity to determine varioususer preferences. Users may access their personalized guidanceapplication by logging in or otherwise identifying themselves to theguidance application. Customization of the media guidance applicationmay be made in accordance with a user profile. The customizations mayinclude varying presentation schemes (e.g., color scheme of displays,font size of text, etc.), aspects of content listings displayed (e.g.,only HDTV or only 3D programming, user-specified broadcast channelsbased on favorite channel selections, re-ordering the display ofchannels, recommended content, etc.), desired recording features (e.g.,recording or series recordings for particular users, recording quality,etc.), parental control settings, customized presentation of Internetcontent (e.g., presentation of social media content, e-mail,electronically delivered articles, etc.) and other desiredcustomizations.

The media guidance application may allow a user to provide user profileinformation or may automatically compile user profile information. Themedia guidance application may, for example, monitor the content theuser accesses and/or other interactions the user may have with theguidance application. Additionally, the media guidance application mayobtain all or part of other user profiles that are related to aparticular user (e.g., from other web sites on the Internet the useraccesses, such as www.allrovi.com, from other media guidanceapplications the user accesses, from other interactive applications theuser accesses, from another user equipment device of the user, etc.),and/or obtain information about the user from other sources that themedia guidance application may access. As a result, a user can beprovided with a unified guidance application experience across theuser's different user equipment devices. This type of user experience isdescribed in greater detail below in connection with FIG. 4. Additionalpersonalized media guidance application features are described ingreater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005, Boyer et al., U.S. Pat. No.7,165,098, issued Jan. 16, 2007, and Ellis et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2002/0174430, filed Feb. 21, 2002, which arehereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is shown inFIG. 2. Video mosaic display 200 includes selectable options 202 forcontent information organized based on content type, genre, and/or otherorganization criteria. In display 200, television listings option 204 isselected, thus providing listings 206, 208, 210, and 212 as broadcastprogram listings. In display 200 the listings may provide graphicalimages including cover art, still images from the content, video clippreviews, live video from the content, or other types of content thatindicate to a user the content being described by the media guidancedata in the listing. Each of the graphical listings may also beaccompanied by text to provide further information about the contentassociated with the listing. For example, listing 208 may include morethan one portion, including media portion 214 and text portion 216.Media portion 214 and/or text portion 216 may be selectable to viewcontent in full-screen or to view information related to the contentdisplayed in media portion 214 (e.g., to view listings for the channelthat the video is displayed on).

The listings in display 200 are of different sizes (i.e., listing 206 islarger than listings 208, 210, and 212), but if desired, all thelistings may be the same size. Listings may be of different sizes orgraphically accentuated to indicate degrees of interest to the user orto emphasize certain content, as desired by the content provider orbased on user preferences. Various systems and methods for graphicallyaccentuating content listings are discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0153885, filed Dec. 29, 2005,which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Users may access content and the media guidance application (and itsdisplay screens described above and below) from one or more of theiruser equipment devices. FIG. 3 shows a generalized embodiment ofillustrative user equipment device 300. More specific implementations ofuser equipment devices are discussed below in connection with FIG. 4.User equipment device 300 may receive content and data via input/output(hereinafter “I/O”) path 302. I/O path 302 may provide content (e.g.,broadcast programming, on-demand programming, Internet content, contentavailable over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN),and/or other content) and data to control circuitry 304, which includesprocessing circuitry 306 and storage 308. Control circuitry 304 may beused to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable datausing I/O path 302. I/O path 302 may connect control circuitry 304 (andspecifically processing circuitry 306) to one or more communicationspaths (described below). I/O functions may be provided by one or more ofthese communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 3 toavoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Control circuitry 304 may be based on any suitable processing circuitrysuch as processing circuitry 306. As referred to herein, processingcircuitry should be understood to mean circuitry based on one or moremicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors,programmable logic devices, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may includea multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or anysuitable number of cores) or supercomputer. In some embodiments,processing circuitry may be distributed across multiple separateprocessors or processing units, for example, multiple of the same typeof processing units (e.g., two Intel Core i7 processors) or multipledifferent processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel Corei7 processor). In some embodiments, control circuitry 304 executesinstructions for a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e.,storage 308). Specifically, control circuitry 304 may be instructed bythe media guidance application to perform the functions discussed aboveand below. For example, the media guidance application may provideinstructions to control circuitry 304 to generate the media guidancedisplays. In some implementations, any action performed by controlcircuitry 304 may be based on instructions received from the mediaguidance application.

In client-server based embodiments, control circuitry 304 may includecommunications circuitry suitable for communicating with a guidanceapplication server or other networks or servers. The instructions forcarrying out the above mentioned functionality may be stored on theguidance application server. Communications circuitry may include acable modem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, adigital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, Ethernet card,or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment, or anyother suitable communications circuitry. Such communications may involvethe Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths(which is described in more detail in connection with FIG. 4). Inaddition, communications circuitry may include circuitry that enablespeer-to-peer communication of user equipment devices, or communicationof user equipment devices in locations remote from each other (describedin more detail below).

Memory may be an electronic storage device provided as storage 308 thatis part of control circuitry 304. As referred to herein, the phrase“electronic storage device” or “storage device” should be understood tomean any device for storing electronic data, computer software, orfirmware, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, hard drives,optical drives, digital video disc (DVD) recorders, compact disc (CD)recorders, BLU-RAY disc (BD) recorders, BLU-RAY 3D disc recorders,digital video recorders (DVR, sometimes called a personal videorecorder, or PVR), solid state devices, quantum storage devices, gamingconsoles, gaming media, or any other suitable fixed or removable storagedevices, and/or any combination of the same. Storage 308 may be used tostore various types of content described herein as well as mediaguidance information, described above, and guidance application data,described above. Nonvolatile memory may also be used (e.g., to launch aboot-up routine and other instructions). Cloud-based storage, describedin relation to FIG. 4, may be used to supplement storage 308 or insteadof storage 308.

Control circuitry 304 may include video generating circuitry and tuningcircuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition tuners, orany other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of suchcircuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog,or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided.Control circuitry 304 may also include scaler circuitry for upconvertingand downconverting content into the preferred output format of the userequipment 300. Circuitry 304 may also include digital-to-analogconverter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry forconverting between digital and analog signals. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may be used by the user equipment device to receive and todisplay, to play, or to record content. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may also be used to receive guidance data. The circuitrydescribed herein, including for example, the tuning, video generating,encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting, scaler, and analog/digitalcircuitry, may be implemented using software running on one or moregeneral purpose or specialized processors. Multiple tuners may beprovided to handle simultaneous tuning functions (e.g., watch and recordfunctions, picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording,etc.). If storage 308 is provided as a separate device from userequipment 300, the tuning and encoding circuitry (including multipletuners) may be associated with storage 308.

A user may send instructions to control circuitry 304 using user inputinterface 310. User input interface 310 may be any suitable userinterface, such as a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard,touch screen, touchpad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognitioninterface, or other user input interfaces. In addition to receiving userinputs, user input interface 310 may detect tactile attributesassociated with a user input. For example, in some embodiments, inaddition to receiving user instructions via the user input, the mediaguidance application may receive data (e.g., metadata associated withthe user instructions) describing how the user input was received.

For example, user input interface 310 may include one or more componentsconfigured to detect tactile attributes, including, but not limited to,an amount of pressure applied by a user to a user input interface whenmaking a user input, a length of time a user contacts and/or appliespressure to a user input interface in order to make a user input, avelocity at which a user touches a user input interface when making auser input, a frequency of contact between a user and a user inputinterface when making user inputs, how a user contacts a user inputinterface (e.g., by swiping, pinching, striking, rubbing, etc.) whenmaking a user input, a direction a user contacts a user input interface(e.g., vertically, horizontally, left-to-right, right-to-left,diagonally, etc.), what a user uses to make contact with a user inputinterface when making a user input, and/or any other characteristic thatdescribes the contact between a user and the user input interface whenmaking a user input.

Methods and systems for detecting tactile attributes of user inputentireties are described in greater detail in Day et al. U.S. PatentPublication No. 2010/0308844, published Dec. 9, 2010, Lee et al. U.S.Patent Publication No. 2012/0319937, published Dec. 20, 2012, and Dietzet al. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2012/0293448, published Nov. 22,2012, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties.

Display 312 may be provided as a stand-alone device or integrated withother elements of user equipment device 300. Display 312 may be one ormore of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display (LCD) for amobile device, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visualimages. In some embodiments, display 312 may be HDTV-capable. In someembodiments, display 312 may be a 3D display, and the interactive mediaguidance application and any suitable content may be displayed in 3D. Avideo card or graphics card may generate the output to the display 312.The video card may offer various functions such as accelerated renderingof 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or theability to connect multiple monitors. The video card may be anyprocessing circuitry described above in relation to control circuitry304. The video card may be integrated with the control circuitry 304.Speakers 314 may be provided as integrated with other elements of userequipment device 300 or may be stand-alone units. The audio component ofvideos and other content displayed on display 312 may be played throughspeakers 314. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to areceiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers314.

The guidance application may be implemented using any suitablearchitecture. For example, it may be a stand-alone application whollyimplemented on user equipment device 300. In such an approach,instructions of the application are stored locally, and data for use bythe application is downloaded on a periodic basis (e.g., from anout-of-band feed, from an Internet resource, or using another suitableapproach). In some embodiments, the media guidance application is aclient-server based application. Data for use by a thick or thin clientimplemented on user equipment device 300 is retrieved on-demand byissuing requests to a server remote to the user equipment device 300. Inone example of a client-server based guidance application, controlcircuitry 304 runs a web browser that interprets web pages provided by aremote server.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application is downloaded andinterpreted or otherwise run by an interpreter or virtual machine (runby control circuitry 304). In some embodiments, the guidance applicationmay be encoded in the ETV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF), received bycontrol circuitry 304 as part of a suitable feed, and interpreted by auser agent running on control circuitry 304. For example, the guidanceapplication may be an EBIF application. In some embodiments, theguidance application may be defined by a series of JAVA-based files thatare received and run by a local virtual machine or other suitablemiddleware executed by control circuitry 304. In some of suchembodiments (e.g., those employing MPEG-2 or other digital mediaencoding schemes), the guidance application may be, for example, encodedand transmitted in an MPEG-2 object carousel with the MPEG audio andvideo packets of a program.

User equipment device 300 of FIG. 3 can be implemented in system 400 ofFIG. 4 as user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404,wireless user communications device 406, or any other type of userequipment suitable for accessing content, such as a non-portable gamingmachine. For simplicity, these devices may be referred to hereincollectively as user equipment or user equipment devices, and may besubstantially similar to user equipment devices described above. Userequipment devices, on which a media guidance application may beimplemented, may function as a standalone device or may be part of anetwork of devices. Various network configurations of devices may beimplemented and are discussed in more detail below.

A user equipment device utilizing at least some of the system featuresdescribed above in connection with FIG. 3 may not be classified solelyas user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, or awireless user communications device 406. For example, user televisionequipment 402 may, like some user computer equipment 404, beInternet-enabled allowing for access to Internet content, while usercomputer equipment 404 may, like some television equipment 402, includea tuner allowing for access to television programming. The mediaguidance application may have the same layout on various different typesof user equipment or may be tailored to the display capabilities of theuser equipment. For example, on user computer equipment 404, theguidance application may be provided as a web site accessed by a webbrowser. In another example, the guidance application may be scaled downfor wireless user communications devices 406.

In system 400, there is typically more than one of each type of userequipment device but only one of each is shown in FIG. 4 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may utilize morethan one type of user equipment device and also more than one of eachtype of user equipment device.

In some embodiments, a user equipment device (e.g., user televisionequipment 402, user computer equipment 404, wireless user communicationsdevice 406) may be referred to as a “second screen device.” For example,a second screen device may supplement content presented on a first userequipment device. The content presented on the second screen device maybe any suitable content that supplements the content presented on thefirst device. In some embodiments, the second screen device provides aninterface for adjusting settings and display preferences of the firstdevice. In some embodiments, the second screen device is configured forinteracting with other second screen devices or for interacting with asocial network. The second screen device can be located in the same roomas the first device, a different room from the first device but in thesame house or building, or in a different building from the firstdevice.

The user may also set various settings to maintain consistent mediaguidance application settings across in-home devices and remote devices.Settings include those described herein, as well as channel and programfavorites, programming preferences that the guidance applicationutilizes to make programming recommendations, display preferences, andother desirable guidance settings. For example, if a user sets a channelas a favorite on, for example, the web site www.allrovi.com on theirpersonal computer at their office, the same channel would appear as afavorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g., user television equipmentand user computer equipment) as well as the user's mobile devices, ifdesired. Therefore, changes made on one user equipment device can changethe guidance experience on another user equipment device, regardless ofwhether they are the same or a different type of user equipment device.In addition, the changes made may be based on settings input by a user,as well as user activity monitored by the guidance application.

The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications network 414.Namely, user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, andwireless user communications device 406 are coupled to communicationsnetwork 414 via communications paths 408, 410, and 412, respectively.Communications network 414 may be one or more networks including theInternet, a mobile phone network, mobile voice or data network (e.g., a4G or LTE network), cable network, public switched telephone network, orother types of communications network or combinations of communicationsnetworks. Paths 408, 410, and 412 may separately or together include oneor more communications paths, such as, a satellite path, a fiber-opticpath, a cable path, a path that supports Internet communications (e.g.,IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wirelesssignals), or any other suitable wired or wireless communications path orcombination of such paths. Path 412 is drawn with dotted lines toindicate that in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4 it is awireless path and paths 408 and 410 are drawn as solid lines to indicatethey are wired paths (although these paths may be wireless paths, ifdesired). Communications with the user equipment devices may be providedby one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a singlepath in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Although communications paths are not drawn between user equipmentdevices, these devices may communicate directly with each other viacommunication paths, such as those described above in connection withpaths 408, 410, and 412, as well as other short-range point-to-pointcommunication paths, such as USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, wirelesspaths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), or othershort-range communication via wired or wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is acertification mark owned by Bluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipmentdevices may also communicate with each other directly through anindirect path via communications network 414.

System 400 includes content source 416 and media guidance data source418 coupled to communications network 414 via communication paths 420and 422, respectively. Paths 420 and 422 may include any of thecommunication paths described above in connection with paths 408, 410,and 412. Communications with the content source 416 and media guidancedata source 418 may be exchanged over one or more communications paths,but are shown as a single path in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing. In addition, there may be more than one of each of contentsource 416 and media guidance data source 418, but only one of each isshown in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (The differenttypes of each of these sources are discussed below.) If desired, contentsource 416 and media guidance data source 418 may be integrated as onesource device. Although communications between sources 416 and 418 withuser equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 are shown as throughcommunications network 414, in some embodiments, sources 416 and 418 maycommunicate directly with user equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 viacommunication paths (not shown) such as those described above inconnection with paths 408, 410, and 412.

Content source 416 may include one or more types of content distributionequipment including a television distribution facility, cable systemheadend, satellite distribution facility, programming sources (e.g.,television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.), intermediatedistribution facilities and/or servers, Internet providers, on-demandmedia servers, and other content providers. NBC is a trademark owned bythe National Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is a trademark owned by theAmerican Broadcasting Company, Inc., and HBO is a trademark owned by theHome Box Office, Inc. Content source 416 may be the originator ofcontent (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcast provider, etc.) ormay not be the originator of content (e.g., an on-demand contentprovider, an Internet provider of content of broadcast programs fordownloading, etc.). Content source 416 may include cable sources,satellite providers, on-demand providers, Internet providers,over-the-top content providers, or other providers of content. Contentsource 416 may also include a remote media server used to storedifferent types of content (including video content selected by a user),in a location remote from any of the user equipment devices. Systems andmethods for remote storage of content, and providing remotely storedcontent to user equipment are discussed in greater detail in connectionwith Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,761,892, issued Jul. 20, 2010, whichis hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Media guidance data source 418 may provide media guidance data, such asthe media guidance data described above. Media guidance application datamay be provided to the user equipment devices using any suitableapproach. In some embodiments, the guidance application may be astand-alone interactive television program guide that receives programguide data via a data feed (e.g., a continuous feed or trickle feed).Program schedule data and other guidance data may be provided to theuser equipment on a television channel sideband, using an in-banddigital signal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any othersuitable data transmission technique. Program schedule data and othermedia guidance data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analogor digital television channels.

In some embodiments, guidance data from media guidance data source 418may be provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach. Forexample, a user equipment device may pull media guidance data from aserver, or a server may push media guidance data to a user equipmentdevice. In some embodiments, a guidance application client residing onthe user's equipment may initiate sessions with source 418 to obtainguidance data when needed, e.g., when the guidance data is out of dateor when the user equipment device receives a request from the user toreceive data. Media guidance may be provided to the user equipment withany suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, a user-specifiedperiod of time, a system-specified period of time, in response to arequest from user equipment, etc.). Media guidance data source 418 mayprovide user equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 the media guidanceapplication itself or software updates for the media guidanceapplication.

Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-aloneapplications implemented on user equipment devices. For example, themedia guidance application may be implemented as software or a set ofexecutable instructions which may be stored in storage 308, and executedby control circuitry 304 of a user equipment device 300. In someembodiments, media guidance applications may be client-serverapplications where only a client application resides on the userequipment device, and server application resides on a remote server. Forexample, media guidance applications may be implemented partially as aclient application on control circuitry 304 of user equipment device 300and partially on a remote server as a server application (e.g., mediaguidance data source 418) running on control circuitry of the remoteserver. When executed by control circuitry of the remote server (such asmedia guidance data source 418), the media guidance application mayinstruct the control circuitry to generate the guidance applicationdisplays and transmit the generated displays to the user equipmentdevices. The server application may instruct the control circuitry ofthe media guidance data source 418 to transmit data for storage on theuser equipment. The client application may instruct control circuitry ofthe receiving user equipment to generate the guidance applicationdisplays.

Content and/or media guidance data delivered to user equipment devices402, 404, and 406 may be over-the-top (OTT) content. OTT contentdelivery allows Internet-enabled user devices, including any userequipment device described above, to receive content that is transferredover the Internet, including any content described above, in addition tocontent received over cable or satellite connections. OTT content isdelivered via an Internet connection provided by an Internet serviceprovider (ISP), but a third party distributes the content. The ISP maynot be responsible for the viewing abilities, copyrights, orredistribution of the content, and may only transfer IP packets providedby the OTT content provider. Examples of OTT content providers includeYOUTUBE, NETFLIX, and HULU, which provide audio and video via IPpackets. Youtube is a trademark owned by Google Inc., Netflix is atrademark owned by Netflix Inc., and Hulu is a trademark owned by Hulu,LLC. OTT content providers may additionally or alternatively providemedia guidance data described above. In addition to content and/or mediaguidance data, providers of OTT content can distribute media guidanceapplications (e.g., web-based applications or cloud-based applications),or the content can be displayed by media guidance applications stored onthe user equipment device.

Media guidance system 400 is intended to illustrate a number ofapproaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment devicesand sources of content and guidance data may communicate with each otherfor the purpose of accessing content and providing media guidance. Theembodiments described herein may be applied in any one or a subset ofthese approaches, or in a system employing other approaches fordelivering content and providing media guidance. The following fourapproaches provide specific illustrations of the generalized example ofFIG. 4.

In one approach, user equipment devices may communicate with each otherwithin a home network. User equipment devices can communicate with eachother directly via short-range point-to-point communication schemesdescribed above, via indirect paths through a hub or other similardevice provided on a home network, or via communications network 414.Each of the multiple individuals in a single home may operate differentuser equipment devices on the home network. As a result, it may bedesirable for various media guidance information or settings to becommunicated between the different user equipment devices. For example,it may be desirable for users to maintain consistent media guidanceapplication settings on different user equipment devices within a homenetwork, as described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/179,410, filed Jul. 11, 2005. Different types ofuser equipment devices in a home network may also communicate with eachother to transmit content. For example, a user may transmit content fromuser computer equipment to a portable video player or portable musicplayer.

In a second approach, users may have multiple types of user equipment bywhich they access content and obtain media guidance. For example, someusers may have home networks that are accessed by in-home and mobiledevices. Users may control in-home devices via a media guidanceapplication implemented on a remote device. For example, users mayaccess an online media guidance application on a website via a personalcomputer at their office, or a mobile device such as a PDA orweb-enabled mobile telephone. The user may set various settings (e.g.,recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the online guidanceapplication to control the user's in-home equipment. The online guidemay control the user's equipment directly, or by communicating with amedia guidance application on the user's in-home equipment. Varioussystems and methods for user equipment devices communicating, where theuser equipment devices are in locations remote from each other, isdiscussed in, for example, Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,046,801, issuedOct. 25, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside and outsidea home can use their media guidance application to communicate directlywith content source 416 to access content. Specifically, within a home,users of user television equipment 402 and user computer equipment 404may access the media guidance application to navigate among and locatedesirable content. Users may also access the media guidance applicationoutside of the home using wireless user communications devices 406 tonavigate among and locate desirable content.

In a fourth approach, user equipment devices may operate in a cloudcomputing environment to access cloud services. In a cloud computingenvironment, various types of computing services for content sharing,storage or distribution (e.g., video sharing sites or social networkingsites) are provided by a collection of network-accessible computing andstorage resources, referred to as “the cloud.” For example, the cloudcan include a collection of server computing devices, which may belocated centrally or at distributed locations, that provide cloud-basedservices to various types of users and devices connected via a networksuch as the Internet via communications network 414. These cloudresources may include one or more content sources 416 and one or moremedia guidance data sources 418. In addition or in the alternative, theremote computing sites may include other user equipment devices, such asuser television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, and wirelessuser communications device 406. For example, the other user equipmentdevices may provide access to a stored copy of a video or a streamedvideo. In such embodiments, user equipment devices may operate in apeer-to-peer manner without communicating with a central server.

The cloud provides access to services, such as content storage, contentsharing, or social networking services, among other examples, as well asaccess to any content described above, for user equipment devices.Services can be provided in the cloud through cloud computing serviceproviders, or through other providers of online services. For example,the cloud-based services can include a content storage service, acontent sharing site, a social networking site, or other services viawhich user-sourced content is distributed for viewing by others onconnected devices. These cloud-based services may allow a user equipmentdevice to store content to the cloud and to receive content from thecloud rather than storing content locally and accessing locally-storedcontent.

A user may use various content capture devices, such as camcorders,digital cameras with video mode, audio recorders, mobile phones, andhandheld computing devices, to record content. The user can uploadcontent to a content storage service on the cloud either directly, forexample, from user computer equipment 404 or wireless usercommunications device 406 having content capture feature. Alternatively,the user can first transfer the content to a user equipment device, suchas user computer equipment 404. The user equipment device storing thecontent uploads the content to the cloud using a data transmissionservice on communications network 414. In some embodiments, the userequipment device itself is a cloud resource, and other user equipmentdevices can access the content directly from the user equipment deviceon which the user stored the content.

Cloud resources may be accessed by a user equipment device using, forexample, a web browser, a media guidance application, a desktopapplication, a mobile application, and/or any combination of accessapplications of the same. The user equipment device may be a cloudclient that relies on cloud computing for application delivery, or theuser equipment device may have some functionality without access tocloud resources. For example, some applications running on the userequipment device may be cloud applications, i.e., applications deliveredas a service over the Internet, while other applications may be storedand run on the user equipment device. In some embodiments, a user devicemay receive content from multiple cloud resources simultaneously. Forexample, a user device can stream audio from one cloud resource whiledownloading content from a second cloud resource. Or a user device candownload content from multiple cloud resources for more efficientdownloading. In some embodiments, user equipment devices can use cloudresources for processing operations such as the processing operationsperformed by processing circuitry described in relation to FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for selecting a mediaguidance function from a plurality of media guidance functions based onan amount of pressure applied by a user during a user input. It shouldbe noted that process 500 or any step thereof could be performed on, orprovided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 3-4. For example, process500 may be executed by control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) as instructed by amedia guidance application implemented on user equipment 402, 404,and/or 406 (FIG. 4) in order to select a media guidance function from aplurality of media guidance functions based on an amount of pressureapplied by a user during a user input. In addition, one or more steps ofprocess 500 may be incorporated into or combined with one or more stepsof any other process or embodiment (e.g., process 600 (FIG. 6)).

At step 502, the media guidance application receives a user input. Forexample, the media guidance application may receive (e.g., via userinput interface 310 (FIG. 3)) a user request (e.g., associated with oneor more user inputs) to perform a media guidance function. In someembodiments, the media guidance application may receive the user inputand determine (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) one or moremedia guidance functions associated with the particular user input. Toselect a particular media guidance function to perform from the one ormore media guidance functions, the media guidance application may detect(e.g., via a component incorporated into or accessible by user inputinterface 310 (FIG. 3)) and analyze (e.g., via control circuitry 304(FIG. 3)) tactile attributes associated with the user input.

At step 504, the media guidance application determines an amount ofpressure applied by a user associated with the user input. For example,the media guidance application may receive data (e.g., from a componentincorporated into or accessible by user input interface 310 (FIG. 3))that indicates the amount of pressure a user applied when entering theuser input.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) may quantify the tactile attributes according toa respective metrics. For example, when determining the amount ofpressure that was applied by a user during a user input, the mediaguidance application may measure the pressure in grams per meter and/orany other suitable unit of measure. In another example, when determiningthe length of time a user applied pressure during a user input, themedia guidance application may measure the length of time in secondsand/or any other suitable unit of measure.

At step 506, the media guidance application cross-references the amountof pressure applied by the user with a database listing a plurality ofmedia guidance functions each associated with a different amount ofpressure to determine a media guidance function associated with theamount of pressure applied by the user. For example, after quantifying(determining a finite value based on a particular measurement standard)a tactile attribute associated with a user input, the media guidanceapplication may input (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) thequantified tactile attribute in a database (e.g., stored locally atstorage 308 (FIG. 3) or remotely at any location accessible viacommunications network 414 (FIG. 4)).

For example, the database may be structured as a lookup table and themedia guidance application may filter the listings (e.g., availablemedia guidance functions) in the database based on criteria (e.g., aparticular user input entered and/or one or more tactile attributesassociated with the user input) to determine only a single listing(e.g., a media guidance function) associated with the user input. Thedatabase may then output the listing for receipt by the media guidanceapplication.

At step 508, the media guidance application selects the media guidancefunction from the plurality of media guidance functions. For example,the media guidance application may receive (e.g., via I/O path 302 (FIG.3) or directly from storage 308 (FIG. 3)) a listing from a databaseassociated with tactile attributes associated with media guidancefunctions. The listing, corresponding to a media guidance function, maythen be selected (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) by the mediaguidance application.

At step 510, the media guidance application performs the media guidancefunction in response to the user input. For example, in response todetermining (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) that the userinput and/or tactile attributes (e.g., the amount of pressure applied bythe user during the user input) indicates the user wishes to perform aparticular media guidance function, the media guidance application(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) performs the function (e.g.,associated with the presentation of media guidance application,performance of one or more fast-access playback operations, generationfor display of one or more media assets, etc.).

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 5 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 5 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase thespeed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should be noted that anyof the devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 3-4 could beused to perform one of more of the steps in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for determining tactileattributes associated with a user input. It should be noted that process600 or any step thereof could be performed on, or provided by, any ofthe devices shown in FIGS. 3-4. For example, process 600 may be executedby control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) as instructed by a media guidanceapplication implemented on user equipment 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG. 4)in order to determine tactile attributes associated with a user input.In addition, one or more steps of process 600 may be incorporated intoor combined with one or more steps of any other process or embodiment(e.g., process 500 (FIG. 5)).

At step 602, the media guidance application receives a user input. Insome embodiments, step 602 may correspond to step 502 (FIG. 5). Forexample, the media guidance application may receive (e.g., via userinput interface 310 (FIG. 3)) a user request (e.g., associated with oneor more user inputs) to perform a media guidance function. In someembodiments, the media guidance application may receive the user inputand determine (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) one or moremedia guidance functions associated with the particular user input. Toselect a particular media guidance function to perform from the one ormore media guidance functions, the media guidance application may detect(e.g., via a component incorporated into or accessible by user inputinterface 310 (FIG. 3)) and analyze (e.g., via control circuitry 304(FIG. 3)) tactile attributes associated with the user input.

At step 604, the media guidance application determines whether or notthe function is selected based on the pressure applied by a user duringthe user input. For example, when entering a user input a user may usevarying amounts of force when contacting the user input interface. Themedia guidance application may detect (e.g., via a componentincorporated into or accessible by user input interface 310 (FIG. 3)) aparticular amount of force applied by the user and use this amount offorce to select a particular media guidance function to perform. If themedia guidance application determines that the function is not selectedbased on the pressure applied by a user during the user input, the mediaguidance application proceeds to step 610. If the media guidanceapplication determines that the function is selected based on thepressure applied by a user during the user input, the media guidanceapplication proceeds to step 606.

At step 606, the media guidance application determines the amount ofpressure associated with the user input. For example, in addition toreceiving user inputs, user input interface 310 (FIG. 3)) may detecttactile attributes associated with a user input for use by the mediaguidance application in determining a function to perform (e.g.,obtaining information about a media listing). The media guidanceapplication may quantify this data based on a particular metric asdiscussed above. For example, in some embodiments, in addition toreceiving user instructions via the user input, the media guidanceapplication may receive data (e.g., metadata associated with the userinstructions) describing how the user input was received.

At step 608, the media guidance application stores the determined amountof pressure. For example, after determining an amount of pressureassociated with the user input, the media guidance application may store(e.g., at storage 308 (FIG. 3) and/or any location accessible viacommunications network 414 (FIG. 4)) the determined amount. After step608, the media guidance application proceeds to step 610.

At step 610, the media guidance application determines whether or notthe function is selected based on the length of time pressure is appliedby a user during the user input. For example, when entering a user inputa user may apply pressure for varying amounts of time. The mediaguidance application may detect (e.g., via a component incorporated intoor accessible by user input interface 310 (FIG. 3)) a particular lengthof time the user applies pressure to the user input interface. If themedia guidance application determines that the function is not selectedbased on the pressure applied by a user during the user input, the mediaguidance application proceeds to step 616. If the media guidanceapplication determines that the function is selected based on thepressure applied by a user during the user input, the media guidanceapplication proceeds to step 612.

At step 612, the media guidance application determines the particularlength of time the user applies pressure to the user input interface.For example, in addition to receiving user inputs, user input interface310 (FIG. 3)) may detect tactile attributes associated with a user inputfor use by the media guidance application in determining a function toperform (e.g., changing a user profile setting). The media guidanceapplication may quantify this data based on a particular metric asdiscussed above. For example, in some embodiments, in addition toreceiving user instructions via the user input, the media guidanceapplication may receive data (e.g., metadata associated with the userinstructions) describing how the user input was received.

In some embodiments, holding a user input down for a specific amount oftime may cause the media guidance application to perform differentfunctions. For example, if the media guidance application determinesthat a user has held an input down for a first period of time, the mediaguidance application may perform a first media guidance function (e.g.,show a preview clip of a PPV movie), whereas if the media guidanceapplication determines that a user has held an input down for a secondperiod of time, the media guidance application may perform a secondmedia guidance function (e.g., order a presentation of the PPV movie).

At step 614, the media guidance application stores the determined lengthof time the user applies pressure to the user input interface. Forexample, after determining the particular length of time the userapplies pressure to the user input interface, the media guidanceapplication may store (e.g., at storage 308 (FIG. 3) and/or any locationaccessible via communications network 414 (FIG. 4)) the determinedlength. After step 614, the media guidance application proceeds to step616.

At step 616, the media guidance application determines whether or notthe function is selected based on the velocity of a user input. Forexample, when entering a user input a user may use varying amounts ofspeed when contacting the user input interface. The media guidanceapplication may detect (e.g., via a component incorporated into oraccessible by user input interface 310 (FIG. 3)) the velocity of theuser input to select a particular media guidance function to perform. Ifthe media guidance application determines that the function is notselected based on velocity of the user input, the media guidanceapplication proceeds to step 622. If the media guidance applicationdetermines that the function is selected based on velocity of the userinput, the media guidance application proceeds to step 618 anddetermines velocity.

In some embodiments, a fast entry of an input (e.g., associated with ahigh velocity) may cause the media guidance application to perform adifferent function than a slow entry of an input (e.g., associated witha low velocity). For example, if the media guidance applicationdetermines that a user has quickly pressed a key associated with analphanumeric character for use in a search tool, the media guidanceapplication may automatically perform spelling corrections. In contrast,if the media guidance application determines that a user has slowly anddeliberately pressed a key associated with an alphanumeric character foruse in a search tool, the media guidance application may not perform anyspelling correction.

At step 618, the media guidance application determines velocityassociated with the user input. For example, in addition to receivinguser inputs, user input interface 310 (FIG. 3)) may detect tactileattributes associated with a user input for use by the media guidanceapplication in determining a function to perform (e.g., turning a userdevice on or off). The media guidance application may quantify this databased on a particular metric as discussed above. For example, in someembodiments, in addition to receiving user instructions via the userinput, the media guidance application may receive data (e.g., metadataassociated with the user instructions) describing how the user input wasreceived.

At step 620, the media guidance application stores the determinedvelocity of the user input. For example, after determining the velocityassociated with the user input, the media guidance application may store(e.g., at storage 308 (FIG. 3) and/or any location accessible viacommunications network 414 (FIG. 4)) the determined velocity. After step620, the media guidance application proceeds to step 622.

At step 622, the media guidance application determines whether or notthe function is selected based on the length of time from the last userinput. For example, a user may enter user inputs at varying frequencies.The media guidance application may detect (e.g., via a componentincorporated into or accessible by user input interface 310 (FIG. 3))the length of time from the last user input to select a particular mediaguidance function to perform. If the media guidance applicationdetermines that the function is not selected based on the length of timefrom the last user input, the media guidance application proceeds tostep 628. If the media guidance application determines that the functionis selected based on the length of time from the last user input, themedia guidance application proceeds to step 624 and determines thelength of time from the last user input that is associated with the userinput.

At step 624, the media guidance application determines the length oftime from the last user input. For example, in addition to receivinguser inputs, user input interface 310 (FIG. 3)) may detect tactileattributes associated with a user input for use by the media guidanceapplication in determining a function to perform (e.g., generating apresentation of one or more media assets). The media guidanceapplication may quantify this data based on a particular metric asdiscussed above. For example, in some embodiments, in addition toreceiving user instructions via the user input, the media guidanceapplication may receive data (e.g., metadata associated with the userinstructions) describing how the user input was received.

In some embodiments, the repeated entry of the same user input may causethe media guidance application to perform particular functions. Forexample, if the media guidance application determines that a user hasrecently increased the frequency of entry of a particular user input(e.g., the user is rapidly pressing an input associated with a channelscan or menu scroll), the media guidance application may increase aproperty associated with that media guidance function (e.g., the mediaguidance application may increase the speed at which the channel scan ormenu scroll is performed).

At step 626, the media guidance application stores the determined lengthof time from the last user input. For example, after determining thelength of time from the last user input, the media guidance applicationmay store (e.g., at storage 308 (FIG. 3) and/or any location accessiblevia communications network 414 (FIG. 4)) the determined length of time.After step 626, the media guidance application proceeds to step 628.

At step 628, the media guidance application determines whether or notthe user has ended the user input. If the media guidance applicationdetermines that the user input has not ended (e.g., a user is stillapplying pressure to the user input), the media guidance applicationreturns to step 602. For example, the media guidance application maycontinuously determine the tactile attributes during a user input. Whilethe media guidance application continuously determines the tactileattributes associated with the user input, the media guidanceapplication may continuously update the stored tactile attributes. Forexample, the media guidance application may perform multiple iterationsof process 600 while a user enters a user input.

In some embodiments, as the stored tactile attributes are updated, amedia guidance function selected and/or performed by the media guidanceapplication may change. For example, during a first iteration of process600, the media guidance application may detect a user has appliedpressure to a user input (e.g., associated with a channel changerequest) for a first period of time. Based on this period of time, themedia guidance application may generate a display of a new channel in aPIP window overlaid on the current channel. During a second iteration ofprocess 600, the media guidance application may detect that the user isstill applying pressure to the same user input. The length of timepressure has been applied to the user input now corresponds to a secondperiod of time. Based on this period of time, the media guidanceapplication may generate a full-screen display of the new channel with aPIP window overlay featuring the previous channel.

During a third iteration of process 600, the media guidance applicationmay detect that the user is still applying pressure to the same userinput. The length of time pressure has been applied to the user inputnow corresponds to a third period of time. Based on this period of time,the media guidance application may generate a full-screen display of thenew channel without a PIP window overlay featuring the previous channel.

If the media guidance application determines that the user input hasended, the media guidance application proceeds to step 630 and retrievesthe stored attributes. The media guidance application may then select afunction based on the one or more stored attributes (e.g., as discussedabove in relation to process 500 (FIG. 5)).

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 6 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 6 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase thespeed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should be noted that anyof the devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 3-4 could beused to perform one of more of the steps in FIG. 6.

The above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are presentedfor purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the presentdisclosure is limited only by the claims which follow. Furthermore, itshould be noted that the features and limitations described in any oneembodiment may be applied to any other embodiment herein, and flowchartsor examples relating to one embodiment may be combined with any otherembodiment in a suitable manner, done in different orders, or done inparallel. In addition, the systems and methods described herein may beperformed in real-time. It should also be noted, the systems and/ormethods described above may be applied to, or used in accordance with,other systems and/or methods.

1-50. (canceled)
 51. A method for selecting media guidance functionsbased on tactile attributes, the method comprising: receiving a userinput; determining a velocity of user input associated with the userinput; transmitting the velocity of the user input into a database thatincludes a plurality of media guidance functions, each associated with avelocity of user input; determining a media guidance function of theplurality of media guidance functions, wherein the determined mediaguidance function is associated with the velocity of the user input; andperforming the determined media guidance function in response to theuser input.
 52. The method of claim 51, wherein the user input isassociated with an entry of an alphanumeric character in a search tool.53. The method of claim 52, wherein, in response to determining thevelocity of user input exceeds a threshold, the received media guidancefunction comprises performing a spell correction.
 54. The method ofclaim 52, wherein, in response to determining the velocity of user inputis below a threshold, the received media guidance function comprises notperforming a spell correction.
 55. The method of claim 51, furthercomprising: determining an amount of pressure applied by the userassociated with the user input; and transmitting the amount of pressureinto the database that includes the plurality of media guidancefunctions; wherein the determined media guidance function is furtherassociated with the amount of pressure.
 56. The method of claim 51,further comprising: determining a length of time an amount of pressureis applied by the user associated with the user input; and transmittingthe length of time into the database that includes the plurality ofmedia guidance functions; wherein the determined media guidance functionis further associated with the length of time.
 57. The method of claim51, wherein the velocity of user input is quantified using a standardunit of measure.
 58. The method of claim 51, wherein the database isstructured as a lookup table.
 59. The method of claim 58, wherein thedatabase selects the one of the plurality of media guidance functions byfiltering the database based on the velocity of user input.
 60. Themethod of claim 59, wherein filtering the database results in a singlelisting associated with the velocity of user input.
 61. A system forselecting media guidance functions based on tactile attributes, thesystem comprising control circuitry configured to: receive a user input;determine a velocity of user input associated with the user input;transmit the velocity of user input into a database that includes aplurality of media guidance functions, each associated with a velocityof user input; determine a media guidance function of the plurality ofmedia guidance functions, wherein the determined media guidance functionis associated with the velocity of the user input; and perform thedetermined media guidance function in response to the user input. 62.The system of claim 61, wherein the user input is associated with anentry of an alphanumeric character in a search tool.
 63. The system ofclaim 62, wherein, in response to determining the velocity of user inputexceeds a threshold, the received media guidance function comprisesperforming a spell correction.
 64. The system of claim 62, wherein, inresponse to determining the velocity of user input is below a threshold,the received media guidance function comprises not performing a spellcorrection.
 65. The system of claim 61, wherein the control circuitry isfurther configured to: determine an amount of pressure applied by theuser associated with the user input; and transmit the amount of pressureinto the database that includes the plurality of media guidancefunctions; wherein the determined media guidance function is furtherassociated with the amount of pressure.
 66. The system of claim 61,wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: determine alength of time an amount of pressure is applied by the user associatedwith the user input; and transmit the length of time into the databasethat includes the plurality of media guidance functions; wherein thedetermined media guidance function is further associated with the lengthof time.
 67. The system of claim 61, wherein the velocity of user inputis quantified using a standard unit of measure.
 68. The system of claim61, wherein the database is structured as a lookup table.
 69. The systemof claim 68, wherein the database selects the one of the plurality ofmedia guidance functions by filtering the database based on the velocityof user input.
 70. The system of claim 69, wherein filtering thedatabase results in a single listing associated with the velocity ofuser input.